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Pencil It In
by CJ Sanchez
18/4/2008
 So there was a two-hour long ‘Schedule Announcement Show’ on ESPN this week. Two hours to announce a schedule and it was worth every second!
Most of us over this side of the pond have been eagerly awaiting our teams’ match-ups so we can get on and plan our entire holiday around seeing ‘our boys’. As of right now, several of us will be scouring the travel sites looking for that perfect deal that we can sell to our altogether uninterested partners.
But look honey it’s San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf; there’s any number of things for you, uh ‘Us’ to enjoy!
But aside from the frenetic search for a package trip, there is the real business of key games and prime time specials. And when it comes to prime time, the Cleveland Browns have really got it locked down this season. Which is only fair I guess, seeing as they’ve been largely ignored for the last twenty years or so
That all changes this year though, with the Browns contesting no less then three (count ’em) Monday night games (Giants Oct. 7th, Bills Nov 17th, Eagles Dec 15th), one Sunday nighter (Steelers Sept 14th) and a Thursday night game too (Broncos Nov 6th). So there’s plenty of chances for Derek Anderson to show the world that he is ‘the real deal’. Or, you know show them that he isn’t.
But Cleveland going primetime is just the beginning of the tale. There are also plenty of other nuggets of fun to be found amongst the plethora of action.
The Bills will play their first regular season game in Toronto on December 7th, where they will ‘play host’ to the Miami Dolphins. This means that the Dolphins will have played two overseas games in two years, which really shows their commitment to the NFL’s international expansion plans. If/when the Bills do eventually move to Canada, the AFC East may well see the hottest and coldest game of each season. And that’s a fact that sounded a whole lot more interesting in my head
 We’ll have to wait until November 2nd to see the two fastest guns in the er East, go at it. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady will face off once again at the all-new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, which should be completed in time for the new season. This has been one of the most fascinating rivalries of the past few years and ’08 should be no different.
The International Series continues in ’08 with (like you didn’t know) The Saints hosting the Chargers at Wembley stadium on October 26th (Week 8). Obviously this is the biggest game on the calendar, as whoever wins it is a dead-cert to win the Super Bowl The Wembley game will be covered by CBS this year, although there is no word yet on who the commentators will be.
The Thanksgiving games this year will see the usual culprits, the Lions and the Cowboys, facing off against the Titans and the Seahawks respectively. But we will also see a late night match-up featuring the Eagles at home to the Cardinals. I have a brief stirring surrounding that Cowboys, Seahawks game, but the other two will likely be the usual blowouts that we’ve become accustomed to seeing on Turkey Day.
On December 22 the Green Bay Packers, now Favre-less, will head to Chicago to meet the Bears in what is likely to be a rather chilly affair. And we all love to watch those sorts of games from the warmth and comfort of our sofas don’t we? A bit of ice and snow never did anyone any harm did it? It did? Ah well, this is football get out there and play already.
And to kick it all off and get us started there is a fantastic Monday Night Double-Header in week 1 that will feature two young Quarterbacks desperate to show the world that they are the future. First off Aaron Rodgers will play at home to the Vikings and following that we should (finally) get a decent look at Raiders second year QB Jamarcus Russell, as he takes on the Cutler led Broncos. Both of these games are interdivisional rivalries and as such should be hotly contested.
There are 256 games in the 17-week regular season and we here at the Diner would watch them all if we could. Though that’s not possible, hopefully this schedule review will have whetted your appetite for some of the sure-fire highlights of the 2008 season. If you’re anything like me though, just hearing the words ‘regular season’ is enough to get you psyched. Role on September 4th.
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